Opportunity rover begins ‘mountain climbing’ up steep ridge at Endeavour crater

Panoramic view of Knudsen Ridge, where Opportunity has been climbing a steep 30 degree slope. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU/James Sorenson
Panoramic view of Knudsen Ridge, where Opportunity has been climbing a steep 30 degree slope. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU/James Sorenson

NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars may have been stealing the spotlight in recent years, but the other rover, Opportunity, is still going strong after 12 long years. Opportunity has survived the harsh environment and various challenges for much longer than anyone anticipated, and now is taking on a new task: climbing slopes as steep as 30 degrees while searching for deposits of clay minerals which had already been detected by orbiting spacecraft. The region where Opportunity landed, Meridiani Planum, is mostly flat plains, but now on the rugged edge of the huge Endeavour crater, the rover is becoming something of a mountain climber.

Read MoreOpportunity rover begins ‘mountain climbing’ up steep ridge at Endeavour crater

Opportunity rover continues trek towards clay ‘holy grail’

Looking ahead: Cape Tribulation and Solander Point beckon in the distance. Click for larger view. Credit: NASA / JLP-Caltech
Looking ahead: Cape Tribulation and Solander Point beckon in the distance. Click for larger version. Credit: NASA / JLP-Caltech

While Curiosity has been hogging a lot of attention lately, the Opportunity rover is still roving away elsewhere on Mars (since 2004!). Kind of like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going and going…

Read MoreOpportunity rover continues trek towards clay ‘holy grail’